NDP says secret government committee looked to sell off SaskTel

The Saskatchewan NDP said Friday it has uncovered a secret Crown selloff committee on behalf of the Saskatchewan Party.

The Opposition said a report from the Information and Privacy Commissioner indicates that plans to sell off SaskTel in 2017 were more advanced than previously thought.

The NDP released documents which show cabinet created a committee to look at ways to sell off up to 50 per cent of the province’s Crown corporations. The documents were obtained through a Freedom of Information request.

NDP Finance Critic Trent Wotherspoon said relations between companies looking to buy out SaskTel and the government were more advanced than what the Sask. Party admitted at the time.

“They had actual proposals going back and forth between two potential buyers of this Crown corporation,” Wotherspoon said. “If you can imagine, this government actually provided secret, commercially sensitive information to competitors to these companies that were looking to buy the Crown corporation.”

The information provided contains two partially redacted records but the privacy commissioner withheld 12 records in their entirety.

According to the NDP, the report alleges that the Sask. Party directed SaskTel to report on its progress of a sale, that the Sask. Party hid evidence of a potential selloff due to public opposition, and that SaskTel signed a non-disclosure agreement to enable negotiations of a sale.

The NDP is calling for the release of all documents the privacy commissioner recommended to be released, as well as documents from the private companies that were supposedly looking to buy SaskTel.

The NDP also wants the Sask. Party to release information as to who was on the committee and if it still exists.

The Sask. Party claimed in an email that it had no intentions to fully sell off SaskTel.

“While there was a period in 2017 where a minority equity sale of SaskTel was considered, which was publicly communicated at the time, our government made the decision to maintain full public ownership of the Crown corporation,” the government said in response to the NDP’s claims.